The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Waterfowl Stamp Advisory Committee wants potential buyers to know that the 25th anniversary 2008 waterfowl stamp print is still available for purchase, and encourages people to buy soon.

The 25th anniversary edition waterfowl stamp and print feature a hen and drake canvasback painted by wildlife artist Rob Leslie. Limited edition, signed and numbered prints (including mint stamps) will be available for sale until Dec. 31, 2009.

The 2008 paper hunting and collector waterfowl stamps will be available for purchase until Dec. 31 as well.

Production of the prints and paper stamps is being discontinued, and they will not be available on July 1 as in the past. The waterfowl stamp program itself will not be discontinued however, only the production of the prints and paper stamps.

Waterfowl hunting privileges will continue to be administered through the electronic licensing system as they currently are.

Prints and stamps can be purchased by visiting the Fish and Wildlife Web site at www.njfishandwildlife.com/prod_stamps.htm and downloading an order form. No orders will be acknowledged after December 31, 2009.

About the Artist

Originally a Wisconsin native, artist Rob Leslie currently resides in Turnersville, New Jersey. As a young man, Leslie left the Badger State for a life on the road as a traveling musician, playing organ and guitar for a rock and roll band known as the Messengers. After settling down in the medical equipment field, he decided to visit the Easton Waterfowl Festival on a whim that proved to be truly inspirational. The experience encouraged him to seriously pursue his own hobby as a wildlife artist.

Less than a year after entering the field of wildlife art, Leslie won the Delaware Duck Stamp Contest and similar contests in Pennsylvania and Idaho. In addition to designing the 2008 25th Anniversary Edition New Jersey Waterfowl Stamp, his art was selected for the Garden State’s 1986, 1992 and 1997 stamps. Leslie’s art is also featured on several other states’ duck stamps and he was chosen as the Ducks Unlimited International Artist of the Year in 1996.

Currently, Rob displays his art at the Easton Waterfowl Festival, Old Time Barnegat Bay Decoy and Gunning Show, Wings and Water Festival, Havre de Grace Decoy and Wildlife Art Festival, and Toms River Art and Decoy Festival. His original paintings can be viewed at Ron Kobli’s Decoys and Wildlife Gallery in Frenchtown, New Jersey.